Missouri Tigers wide receiver Logan Muckey stepped to the podium in Memorial Stadium on Aug. 19, facing a room full of reporters.
“I’ve never been up here before,” Muckey said with a smile on his face. “Feels good, though.”
He was living out his dream as a Missouri Tigers football player, one that’s been with him since his childhood. Muckey was recently elected as one of nine team captains for the upcoming season.
“It is definitely the greatest honor in my life,” Muckey said. “To be able to represent this school, this university, this football team, all my brothers downstairs, like there’s nothing like it.”
But the joy he beamed with, pride he possessed and perseverance he used to get there could have all been taken away.
In April, Muckey went to his doctor to get a CT scan on a tonsil infection. The results came in, and he was presented with news that no person wants to hear. Muckey’s doctors discovered a mass on his thyroid –– it was cancer.
“It was a shocker,” Muckey said.” “It was a shocker for me, shocker for my family, shocker for my friends, my teammates. Being 22 years old, that’s not really something you want to hear about yourself.”
The earth-shattering news shook Muckey. He was fresh off his fourth season with the Tigers, having walked on to the program in 2021. After participating in spring camp to gear up for the 2025 season, the news threw a major wrench in Muckey’s plans, but he was determined to stay committed to the team.
“For me, it was figuring out who I was, having to deal with that off the field, while also trying to play my role on the field,” Muckey said.
Muckey’s role on the field has always been to do the dirty work. As a walk-on, he came in with less merit than most of his peers, presenting him with a tough uphill battle. Muckey’s blue-collar approach to helping the team made him a special teams standout, which gained him the respect of his teammates on the field.
He tackled his battle with cancer the same way.
“If [head coach Eliah Drinkwitz] wouldn’t have told us, you wouldn’t even know [he had cancer],” Missouri lineman Cayden Green said. “Muckey’s the same person every day, like, he’s always got a smile on his face, he’s always got juice. He’s always got a bunch of energy.”
While Muckey served as an inspiration to those around him, he relied on their presence just as much to help him defeat his toughest opponent yet.
“If I was alone, it would have been different,” Muckey said. “But I wasn’t ever alone throughout this entire thing.”
While the team rallied around Muckey as a band of brothers, he received irreplaceable support from his parents.
“You know, I’m blessed to have my mom, my dad, with me,” Muckey said, beginning to choke up. “I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for me, not even [just] throughout the situation, but my entire life. I wouldn’t be who I am without them.”
Between his parents, teammates, coaches, training staff and himself –– it took a village for Muckey to win his battle. In the end, he did.
Muckey defeated cancer in May, undergoing surgery to remove the mass on his thyroid. He has since been declared 100% cancer-free. Since then, he’s ramped back up to full speed on the field –– the only way he’s ever known.
“I haven’t missed a step along the way,” Muckey said. “I’ve never sat out. I’ve never let anyone take me out. It was, you know, it was something I went through, but it’s something that definitely made me stronger, something that built my character up”
Muckey’s impressive character was noticed by his teammates. On August 16, he was voted as one of nine captains for the upcoming season.
“We voted him captain for a reason,” Green said. “He’s a guy people look up to. His story, his work ethic… he’s really a guy of influence on this team.”
Since returning to the field, he’s been back, better than ever and making plays. In a recent scrimmage, Muckey caught the game-winning touchdown and has been making impressive catches throughout fall camp.
For the rest of his life, it’s little moments like these that Muckey may stop, look around and take it all in.
“I’m not taking anything for granted ever again,” Muckey said. “Everything you have can be taken away from you just like that.. so, you know, taking it day by day, really enjoying every moment I have. It’s crazy to say, but it’s a blessing in disguise.”
Copy edited by Emma Harper | [email protected]
Edited by Chase Pray | [email protected]
